Travelling can be stressful no matter how long you have flown the great blue skies of the world.  Whether you’ve travelled 100 times or it’s your first time flying, I want to give you some tips that you can use in order to make your airport experience a fun time and not a stressful situation.

Know where you’re going to park

• Make sure that you leave the house so that you can get to the airport at least 2 hours early.  It’s always best to get there early rather than late.
• Before you head down to the airport, make sure you know where you want to park.  If you’re travelling for more than 2 days, don’t park at the airport!  This is going to cost your a fortune.  Instead, find an off-site that’s affiliated with the airport.  Here, you’ll be able to park and they will take you via a shuttle.  These places are generally pretty cheap and will only cost you about $10/day.  Make sure you look for coupons before you head down because around my area, there’s always a coupon in the paper for a free night.
• If you do park offsite, make sure you save your ticket in a safe place because you will need this when you come back home.

Get ready for check-in

• When you’re finally ready to check, know what you can bring and what you can’t bring on a plane.  Refer to a post earlier that I made on what you can’t bring on an airplane.
• Make sure that all of your baggage is tagged with an ID and also make sure that it’s locked.  This will not only prevent theft but if it does get lost, they will know who it belongs too.
• Make sure that you have all of your IDs for each and every person flying.  You will need your ID in order to board the airplane.
• Know what kind of fees you’re going to pay when your check in your bags.  You’re going to find that most airliners today charge you for a checked in bag.  You may find it easier to carry on your luggage.

Be prepared for the security checkpoint

• Remember, shoes have to be taken off, no exceptions!  TIP: It’s always best to wear sandals.
• If you’re bringing any type of electronic device like a laptop or DVD player, it has to be placed outside the bag for scanning purposes.
• Make sure that you have no containers over 3 ounces.  Anything over this will be thrown out, no exceptions once again.  You have to remember that they are very strict with this.
• If you’re wearing a coat, hat or any type of jewelry, make sure you take it off and place it in the bin.  They will ask you to remove it.
• When you get your bin at the end, don’t sit there and take it out! Instead, take your bin aside and take everything out so you don’t plug up the line.  Some people are faster than you and travellers hate it when people sit there and take out their items.

Boarding the airplane process

• When you finally get into the airport, the first thing you should do is find your terminal.  Once you know where your terminal is, you can roam around if you have time to spare BUT make sure you’re at your gate at least 20 minutes before boarding.
• When it’s time to board, board when your section is called!  Don’t stand around the gate because you’re only going to annoy others.  Instead, sit and wait until your section is called.  Once it’s called, walk up to the gate and hand the attendant the ticket.
• When you get on the airplane, you’ll have assigned seating.  What does this mean?  You sit where you’re told.  Don’t be rude and take someone else’s seat.
• Make sure that you place your bags that you won’t need in the overhead bin.  Do this as fast as possible and get out of the aisle so that others can get by, the aisles are small!

This a routine that you’re going to see at every airport you go to.  The more you can familarize yourself with it, the better.  Be kind, courteous and don’t let things bother you.  The more you know, the easier it’s going to be on your travelling experience.